Author Archive for Martin Belam

James Corcoran penalised for coming off line in deciding kickNetherlands progress to semi-final after scoring re-takeMonday’s Under-17 European Championship quarter-final between the Netherlands and Republic of Ireland ended in acrimony after Irish goa…

But Paul Harper calculates that swapping duplicates with friends will reduce cost to about £250 A maths professor from Cardiff has calculated that filling this year’s World Cup sticker book will cost collectors £773.60. Prof Paul Harper has devised a f…

Records tumbled as South Korea hosted the biggest and most-watched edition of the Winter Paralympics to dateThe 12th Winter Paralympics have come to an end in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Here are a pick of the highlights from 10 days of action, featuring…

Folk music, K-pop and tributes to Stephen Hawking – the 12th Winter Paralympics have come to a spectacular end in PyeongchangThe traditional closing ceremony has brought the curtain down on the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang. If you didn’t get …

Teenager becomes Britain’s most decorated Winter ParalympianUSA beat Canada to gold in thrilling para ice hockey finalOn the last day of competition in Pyeongchang, 19-year-old Menna Fitzpatrick won Britain’s first gold of the Winter Paralympics in the…

Born with defects attributed to radiation from Chernobyl, the skier will be taking two gold medals home to the US woman who adopted herAfter finally winning a first Paralympic gold medal in Pyeongchang this week the USA’s Oksana Masters said: “I did no…

Day seven in Pyeongchang saw double gold for Germany in the biathlon, a second gold medal for cancer survivor Bibian Mentel-Spee, and controversy in the wheelchair curling between Canada and ChinaOn day seven of the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang Ge…

The Australian is competing in Pyeongchang less than four years after suffering life-changing injuries in an attack by two Great White sharks Paralympians enter their chosen sport for all sorts of reasons – whether they have experienced a life-long dis…

• Fitzpatrick and Jen Kehoe second in visually impaired giant slalom• Kelly Gallagher and Gary Smith miss out on medal, finishing fifthOn a day with 36 medals up for grabs, Slovakia’s Henrieta Farkasova and Natalia Subrtova took their fourth gold medal…

Cristian Ribera, 15, finishes sixth in cross-country skiingBritain’s Menna Fitzpatrick wins second medal of GamesCristian Ribera is not only the youngest participant in the Pyeongchang Winter Paralympics, but by coming sixth in the men’s cross-country …

More than 320,000 tickets sold for 12th Winter Paralympics‘The number of visitors from overseas has also been a joy to see’With five days of competition left to go, the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics has already set a new record for ticket sales, sur…

Dutch snowboarder retains her Olympic title despite spending much of 2017 undergoing radiation and surgical treatment for tumoursBibian Mentel-Spee of the Netherlands retained her Olympic snowboard cross title at the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang –…

With the 2018 Games behind us, here is a look at some of the highs and lows of South Korea’s Winter OlympicsNorth Korea sent more synchronised cheerleaders than athletes to Pyeongchang, and everywhere they went the women were constantly photographed an…

The Hungary skier’s halfpipe performance provoked mocking headlines, but she’s been pursuing her Olympic dream for more than half a decadeEarlier this week the world witnessed the sight of one of the least ambitious ski runs in Olympic history, as Eliz…

Hailing from a nation of only 5.2 million people, Norway’s squad is outperforming teams from much bigger countries – and, no, it’s not just because they have so much snowEleven days into the competition, Norway sit top of the medal table, out-performin…

The Norwegian men’s curling team have become notorious for appearing in outlandish trouser designs. We look at some of the highlightsSince the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010, the Norwegian men’s curling team have made a name for themselves by wearin…

By competing at Rio 2016 and Pyeongchang 2018, Tonga’s bare-chested flag-bearer joins a select few in Olympic historyWith his shirtless appearances at the opening ceremonies in Rio and Pyeongchang, Tonga’s Pita Taufatofua has become the very public fac…

Can you identify the Olympic discipline from these zoomed-in pictures of the equipment in Pyeongchang?One of the joys of the Winter Olympics is discovering – or re-discovering – sports that you aren’t that familiar with. But how keenly have you been wa…

LGBT Olympians have been more prominent than at any other Games, with a first gold and rows with the US vice-presidentPyeongchang’s Olympics have seen athletes more open and public about their sexuality than ever before, with Canada’s Eric Radford beco…

Pyeongchang’s Games officially opened with fireworks, a Trump imposter, unfamiliar flags and a familiar topless TonganThe 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang have officially begun with the traditional spectacle of an elaborate and, at times, confusing …